It's him It's Doctor Novak
by WaywardAddy
Summary: AU where Dean winds up in the hospital and meets the mysterious Dr. Castiel Novak, and Dean uses any excuse possible to end up at that hospital again.
1. Chapter 1

Dean Winchester stared at his unfinished creation. Sawdust covered the cement floor of his garage and various tools were spread across the small table beside him. He ran a hand through his messy wheat-colored hair in frustration and slammed his dysfunctional power drill on the table. His open beer knocked over from the impact and sprayed onto the floor.

"Dammit," Dean muttered, quickly grabbing the bottle before any more could spill out. He sat down on the metal chair behind him and wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his sleeve. He closed his eyes, and listened to his own breathing for a moment in an attempt to calm himself. After a few seconds, he felt large hands grab his shoulders and shake him violently.

"EARTHQUAKE!" He heard the voice behind him yell, and he jumped out of his chair. Dean turned around to watch his younger brother laugh his ass off, pointing a long tan finger at Dean's chest.

"Jesus, Sam! Don't—" Dean frowned as the younger Winchester gasped for air.

"Your FACE! Oh my God!" When Sam regained his breath, Dean remembered that Sam was supposed to be at work, not in his brother's house.

"What are you doing here, Sammy?"

"Oh, the case I was working on got dropped," Sam waved his hand dismissively. "I get the next few days off. I thought I'd stop by and see you since it's been, like, three weeks."

Dean nodded. He knew that three weeks was a long time without seeing his baby bro, as they were closer than most siblings. He saw Sam's gaze hover over the wooden project behind Dean. His eyes grew wide and he shuffled awkwardly. _Crap._

"Dean are you building…a _crib_?" Dean sighed and nervously scratched at his neck. _Well, _he thought, _he was gonna find out eventually._

"It was…it was supposed to be a surprise," Dean admitted.

"Oh man," Sam's face softened as he stepped closer and rested his hand on the crib. "All this work," He turned to face Dean. "Stores _do _sell this kind of thing you know."

"Ain't no baby of mine's gonna sleep in some IKEA piece of crap," Dean scoffed. Sam chuckled, and Dean became aware of what he just said. "Well…baby of my brother's," he corrected. Sam thought he detected a hint of sadness in the older Winchester's voice, but he let it go.

"This means a lot, Dean." Dean was far from short, yet Sam still towered over him. "And I know Jessica's gonna love it." Sam's wife Jess was nearly five months pregnant now with their first child. Dean was possibly more excited than the parents, but he tried not to show it too much. Sam reached out to him for a hug, but was playfully shoved away.

"Aw come on."

"No dude. I don't do that chick-flicky garbage."

"Fine then. Jerk."

"Bitch."

Dean smiled as he turned back to his table of tools. "You know I would have this thing finished by the weekend, except my shitty drill isn't working." He picked up the drill and pressed and released the button several times.

"Is it charged?" Sam offered.

"No Sherlock, thank you. I would have never thought of that," Dean retorted with overflowing sarcasm. Dean had charged it, checked the battery, checked the tension, and did everything else he could possibly think of. He absent-mindedly began dusting off the sawdust stuck on the drill bit. "…And don't ask me about buying another one because this one is still new. I'm sure it still works, I just gottaaaAAAAAAHFUCKINGSHIT!"

Dean and Sam both froze. Dean looked up at Sam with green eyes as large as saucers. Sam mirrored the look, but was more focused on his brother's hand.

"I guess the drill works," Sam muttered without blinking.

* * *

The drive to the hospital took about eight minutes, and the boys were silent for most of the ride. Dean's left hand was tightly wrapped in a towel, the latter of which was soaked through with blood. After parking outside the emergency room, Sam led Dean through the glass doors and up to the counter.

"Welcome to Lawrence Memorial Hospital!" chirped a female receptionist with a too-white smile. "How can I help you?"

Sam hitched a thumb towards Dean. "My brother accidentally um, drilled his hand." Dean shot a nasty look at Sam's back for making him sound stupid, but he knew there was no other way of explaining it.

The woman's thin eyebrows furrowed, and she glimpsed at Dean's towel-covered hand. "Oh dear. Looks like we got another oopsie." She gave Dean a concerned look that would normally be seen by a child. _Oopsie? _Dean thought. _This ain't no "oopsie" Blondie. It hurts like hell. _

After asking them some routine questions, her smile returned. "Go ahead and have a seat, you should be admitted very very shortly!"

Luckily, the waiting room was almost empty, so they wouldn't have to wait long. A mother and her child who was vomiting blood into a bucket were taken into an admittance room as soon as Dean sat down, and across from him, a girl lay across one of the sofas. She grimaced as she watched the television, and Dean guessed her foot must have been broken because she rest the swollen limb on an armrest.

"It's amazing how that receptionist can be so happy while dealing with people in agony all day long," Sam commented, who seemed to steal the words right out of Dean's mouth.

"She's fucking sadistic, that's what it is," Dean mumbled, wincing from the throbbing pain his hand created. He glanced over at the woman, who was still smiling widely even though no one was speaking with her. Sam followed his gaze and shivered. "It's possible," he agreed.

* * *

When a nurse handed the two a healthy stack of paperwork, Sam insisted that Dean sign what he needed then go ahead and see the doctor while Sam filled out the rest. Dean would normally be polite and protest, but he was desperate to get some help. A red-headed nurse who introduced herself as Anna guided Dean to the ER and sat him down on a bed in one of the sectioned-off areas for patients. She removed the towel and examined his injury.

"Well…it didn't make it the whole way through, which is good, but you'll most definitely need stitches," she said.

"Trying to do my job Anna?" The deep, gravelly voice came from a dark-haired man with vividly cerulean eyes. He was surprisingly good looking, probably around his early thirties – about the same age as Dean.

"Doctor Novak!" she exclaimed, and stood up straight. "I thought you were busy right now." The doctor ignored her, instead waving his hand to dismiss her. She nodded her goodbye to Dean and scurried away. Dean was somewhat disappointed, he thought she was kind of cute.

"Dean Winchester. 31. Hand injury." The doctor looked up from the file he was reading and squinted at the gaping hole in his patient's left hand. "Oh God, why hasn't anyone at least tried to stop the bleeding yet?" The doctor sounded disappointed that his nurses couldn't at least give the guy an armband or ice pack or something. Dean was thankful that someone was finally more worried about treatment than paperwork.

* * *

Three hours later, Dean found himself in the post-op room. He had surgery to remove the tiny wooden shards stuck deep inside his palm, and stitches to close up the hole. Drowsy from the anesthesia, he open his eyes to see Dr. Novak staring down at him.

"Y-you have pretty eyes," drawled Dean. His mind was bouncing all over the place and he couldn't focus, but if there's one thing he knew, it's that Dr. Novak was one attractive man.

"Hi Dean. Your operation is over now. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine. I-I'm like Jesus."

Dr. Novak rubbed his scruff in confusion. "What was that?"

"Jesus," Dean repeated. "All I need is two more holes." The doctor shook his head, smiling to himself. Loopy patients were sometimes quite entertaining.

Suddenly Dean was cackling loudly. "Jesus was _holey_! HAHAH!"

"I want you to rest a little bit longer, Dean. After that I'll let your brother see you," the doctor said gently. Dean then closed his eyes and relaxed. Dr. Novak turned to go get nurse Anna to watch over him, when he heard Dean speak again.

"Have you ever seen Doctor Sexy M.D.? You remind me of him. 'Cause…'Cause you're a doctor." Dean then giggled like a schoolgirl. "And you're sexy."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey peeps! This is my first fanfic so I would really appreciate if you would give me some honest reviews, cuz I really wanna know what you guys like and don't like **

**I don't like to babble, so here's Chapter 2. Enjoy!**

* * *

After a brief nap, Dean was up again and back to himself. Nurse Anna removed the I.V. and bandaged the area, so now he had gauze on both hands.

"Tell you what, when I got up this morning, I did not see myself spending four hours in a hospital." Dean looked up at the pretty red-headed nurse and gave her his best smile. "Say _Anna,_" -he said her name like it tasted like pie- "Where do you see yourself tomorrow night?"

The nurse looked down at the floor and blushed. "Well I don't have any—"

"Dean! You're up," Dr. Novak suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Look who I've brought."

Sam entered the room with Jess in tow. When she saw him, she ran to his bedside.

"Oh Dean! Sam told me everything that happened, are you alright?"

"I feel okay, but I've taken a lot of drugs so…" Dean noticed that Anna had left the room, and the doctor was getting Sam to sign some discharge papers.

"What were you doing building a birdhouse anyway?"

_A birdhouse? Thanks for not giving away the surprise but a birdhouse? _Dean made a mental note to kill Sam later.

"Looks like we're all set," declared Dr. Novak. "Your follow-up appointment will be next Wednesday and we'll remove your stitches on the 26th of this month…but for now, you can go home."

When the doctor looked at Dean, it was a kind of funny expression that almost looks like he was reading him. When Dean returned the gaze the doctor quickly turned away and sort of shifted awkwardly. _I wonder what all that's about, _Dean wondered briefly.

On the ride home, Sam told Dean a funny story about a dude in the waiting room, and how he spilt coffee on himself and cussed out a nurse. Dean laughed at all the right moments, but his mind wandered to Anna and Dr. Novak. _She sure acted weird around him. Heh, maybe they're together. Maybe they broke up. God, I should have gotten her number. Well I get to go back next Wednesday so I'll be sure and see her and Dr. Blue-eyes. _Dean stopped himself at that thought. _Dr. Blue-eyes? Might as well call him Dr. Sexy—_

"When are we going to go nursery shopping, Sam?" Jess asked her husband, suddenly excited at the thought. Sam eyed Dean in his rear-view mirror, and then responded to his wife.

"Don't you think it's a little early for that? You've still got another 20 weeks to go."

"Is really so bad to be ready?"

"Jess, we haven't even painted yet," Sam pointed out, avoiding her pleading eyes. They had agreed to paint after finding out the gender of the baby, which would be very soon.

"We could at least look around, right?" Sam knew that if Jess found a nursery set she liked, it would be hard to convince her of using the crib Dean poured his blood, sweat and tears for…literally.

"Maybe next week, if I get a day off."

"But you're off for the rest of this week!"

Dean felt bad for putting his brother through this, so he decided to interject.

"Sam told me he would give me a hand around the house this week since I'm a little um, short-handed." Dean wrinkled his nose at his own puns.

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Is that what I said?"

"Yeah, uh, when you drove me to the hospital." Dean smiled at him, smug with his own cleverness.

"Well okay then," Jess decided. "I suppose I could give up my Sammy for a few days." She winked at him, and took the hand that wasn't on the steering wheel. "You can just drop me off at the house then."

"I doubt Dean needs me right now. It's almost dinner time." Dean could see Sam shaking his head in the mirror.

"What's the matter, Sammy? Can't cook your bro dinner every once in a while? Besides, I might need some extra help now with that birdhouse." Suddenly feeling guilty for Dean's injury, Sam agreed to go home with him. They had to get that birdhouse done, after all.

* * *

By the time Wednesday rolled around, Dean was feeling pretty good. With Sam's help, the crib was now complete. He was impressed by the lawyer's work, considering his limited knowledge of construction. The two had painted it white, and Dean was sure to remind Sammy the importance of brushstroke direction. Sam had teased him for being so artsy.

Dean's boss at the auto repair shop, Bobby Singer, got a kick out of the power drill mishap, and forgave him for taking a couple of weeks off. Dean was like a son to him, and he promised to call and check up on him a few times.

When Dean drove to the hospital, it took a little bit longer than usual in his state of mostly one-handedness. Six miles and a crappy parking job later, Dean sat in a room with Dr. Novak.

"What's the pain level?" The blue-eyed doctor asked, standing just a little too close to Dean. Not that he minded, the doctor smelled kind of nice. Like trees. And latex.

"It's still a dull soreness so like…a four?" Dr. Novak nodded as he scribbled on his clipboard.

"Have you experienced any other burning or itching in the area?" Dean remembered the last time a doctor asked him that question, but that time "the area" was far from his hand. He chuckled silently at the memory. "Nope," he answered.

"And…what is your relationship status?" Dean was caught off guard by the question, and stared at the doctor, who peered back at him expectantly.

"What does that have to do with my pain?"

The doctor shrugged. "It's just…procedures." Dean sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin.

"At the moment, I'm single."

"No kids or anything?" the doctor asked, but he wasn't writing anything down.

"Nope. You probably noticed last time that my sister-in-law is expecting. You could say I'm pretty excited about it, but that's the closest I'll probably get to being a father," Dean admitted. He didn't know why he was telling his doctor all of this, the guy probably didn't give a rat's ass.

"You don't want kids of your own?" Dr. Novak was now seated across from Dean, the clipboard was out of sight. Dean didn't see any point in lying to the guy, so he spilled his heart out.

"Sure I do, but I'm getting to that age where women don't wanna take me seriously. The younger ones are all taken or have established lifestyles and the older ones are so desperate that they don't care about getting to know me. I don't have the best track record, so all the women that know me don't wanna touch me with a ten foot pole." Dean was suddenly aware how whiney he sounded. "Life would be so much easier if I was gay, am I right?"

Dr. Novak looked down at his shoes and Dean stood up. "So are we done here?"

The doctor stood up as well, and for a moment he looked as if he didn't know what planet he was on. "Yes, I think that's about all we need."

"Well, it was certainly nice seeing you again Dr. Novak," Dean said, and mentally face-palmed himself for his choice of phrase.

"Please," the doctor smiled again, "You can call me Castiel."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "So we're on a first-name basis now, eh Doc?" He winced at yet another weird sentence to come out of his mouth. _Am I trying to flirt with my doctor?_ He wondered to himself.

At that moment, nurse Anna popped her head into the room. "Dr. Novak, there's a patient waiting to see you." She noticed Dean and smiled at the floor. "Hey Dean."

Before he could respond, she disappeared down the hall. Like she was intimidated by her superior.

"So tell me…Castiel," Dean turned his attention back to the doctor. "Were you and Miss Anna ever, y'know, a thing?" He emphasized the words with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Castiel gave Dean a curious look, then smiled arrogantly. "Oh Anna? No sir, she _wishes _she was my type." He punctuated his sentence with a wink.

Dean glanced at him sideways with a question in his eyes. Castiel then looked away with sudden interest in a painting on the wall. He appeared to mentally scold himself the same way Dean was earlier.

To avoid any other awkward moments, Dean thanked the doctor and left. He had one more hospital visit to go before he would never have to see the man again. Maybe he could manage to turn his auto-flirt feature off for a day. Hopefully.


	3. Chapter 3

**And the sexual tension increases! In this chapter, you'll get a dose of Sam/Jess, and Dean's relationships with Anna and Castiel intensify. Please oh please review for infinite love…and enjoy! *Jazz hands into the sunset***

* * *

It was a cool, starry night. Dean lay out on the hood of his black '67 Chevy Impala, and he'd never felt more at peace. His left hand had rapidly healed and his right held a cold beer.

"This is perfect, Dean," the voice next to him said. Dean turned to see Castiel Novak smiling brightly at him. His eyes were twinkling as much as the stars above. His fingers stroked Dean's face and couldn't take his focus away from his mouth.

"Despite the situation, I'm happy that we met." Castiel's fingers moved down from Dean's face, his lips, his neck, to his chest. "So handsome…"

Then Castiel was kissing him hard on the mouth, the world started spinning faster and his hands went up Dean's shirt and the doctor's breath on his neck, Dean grabbed at his belt and then he moaned and kissed and tugged and—

Dean darted awake. _What. The fuck. _He rubbed his eyelids as the details of the dream flooded his mind. His body felt a little weird and when he looked down, he cursed to himself. He had an unwelcome erection, and an even more unwelcome dream. He buried his face into his healthy hand. _Why him? Why Dr. Novak?_ Dean had never been sexually attracted to a dude, and he didn't expect to start in his thirties. He glimpsed at the small orange bottle on his bedside table. _I bet that's what it is…the drugs. Yep. That explains it. Too many pain meds._

He pulled himself out of bed and checked his phone.

"Well shit," he said to himself when he realized that the following day he would have to go get his stitches taken out. He opened a message from Sam-

_Hey, Jess can't seem to wait any longer for furniture shopping. Maybe you can bring it over today? Thx._

Dean sighed and dialed Bobby's number. It rang twice before he heard the southern drawl on the line.

"Hey Bobby, how are you?"

"Whatcha want boy?" Bobby knew Dean didn't call for a friendly chat.

"I kinda need a favor," Dean asked, biting his lip. He knew that Bobby would do anything for him, but he still hated asking him for help.

"Yeah. I gathered that much. Go on."

"You know that crib I was building for Sam's kid? Well it won't exactly fit in my car—"

"Ya need to borrow one of my trucks. I get it."

"Yeah. And I uh-"

"-need my help getting it over there," Bobby finished for him. "I wasn't gonna let you drive my truck anyway. I ain't an idjit."

Dean smiled. Bobby always tried to seem hard-as-nails on the surface, but he was really just a big teddy bear.

"Thanks Bobby."

"Whatever. I'm heading over to your house now."

"Okay, see you in a few minutes." Dean ended the call and sat back down on his bed still feeling very uncomfortable about his dream. Dean looked back at the orange pill bottle. It was empty. It had been empty for two days now.

* * *

"Bobby!" Sam greeted cheerfully. "Haven't seen you in forever."

"I know it. How ya doing, Sam?" Bobby walked up to Sam and shook his hand.

"Good. Jess will be home in about 15 minutes so we gotta get this thing inside."

Sam and Bobby got the crib out of the truck and carried it to the decided nursery with Dean as the guide.

"Sure you wanna keep it there? I know you haven't painted yet," inquired Dean.

"It's alright. We'll just put the tarp back on it," Sam said, pointing with his head towards the plastic cover Dean slipped on the crib so it wouldn't get dirty.

The piece of furniture barely fit through the doorway, they actually had to remove the door temporarily in order to fit it through. As Dean was slipping the pikes back into the hinges, the men heard the garage door opening.

"Right here's good," Sam muttered in a strained voice, as the crib had quickly become quite heavy. They set it down against one of the walls and Sam hurried to help Dean with the door.

"I got it Sam, go greet your wife," Bobby told him.

Sam walked quickly towards the hall, which the garage was adjacent to. He heard the door of her Nissan shut and the clank of her high heels on the floor. When Jess came into the hall, Sam was posing somewhat awkwardly with a fist on his hip and a hand in his longish brown hair.

"Hey babe," she greeted as she pecked him on the lips. "Whose truck is that in the front?"

"About that," he started. "I have something to show you."

"Oh really?" She raised her eyebrows and smiled.

"Yeah so um, close your eyes," he instructed.

"Oh so it's a surprise?" she asked, her smile growing wider.

"Yeah, kinda." Jess did as he requested and she let Sam guide her to the nursery.

"Okay, open up."

Her eyes snapped open and he heard her quick intake of breath. The crib was beautiful; it had tall corner posts with rounded tops and a bowed backboard with BABY WINCHESTER engraved into it. Jess's hand was clasped around her mouth and she could feel tears fill her eyelids. She stepped closer and ran her fingers across the front of it.

"Dean built it for us, Jess," Sam told her.

"With a little bit of help from Sam," Dean allowed. He subconsciously touched his scar.

"Dean this is…" her voice cracked and a tear fell down her cheek. "This is..."

_Oh please no. _Dean hated it when people cried, even if it was happy tears. _Please no tears. _Tears were just too damn contagious.

"It's so beautiful I don't even know what to say." She opted for hugging him tightly to express her gratitude. She suddenly pulled back in realization. "And your hand! You put yourself in the hospital over this crib!"

At the mention of the hospital, Dean's mind went to Castiel and the dream he had. The thought made him shudder, and Jess misinterpreted this bodily response.

"O gosh Dean I'm so sorry!"

"It's no one's fault Jess, it was just a freak accident," Sam said in an attempt to relieve her guilt. And some of his own.

"I'm fine, Jessica. I get my stitches out tomorrow and then we can all move on with our lives. I'm happy I got to do something for you two…two and a half."

Jess's hand went to her belly. "I have an Ultrasound this weekend." She glanced back at Sam and then to Dean again. "We get to find out the sex!" she beamed. Dean's heart did a little jump at the news. It didn't matter to him whether it was a boy or girl, but knowing the gender led to giving he or she a name, and a name makes the whole thing became so much more real. Also baby clothes. Even a full grown man can appreciate how cute baby clothes are.

* * *

The following morning arrived, and Dean once again found himself in a room waiting for Dr. Novak. Castiel. Whatever.

Anna was asking him some questions about pain, medication, and his health insurance. For whatever reason, she was less bashful than she usually was around Dean.

"So Anna," Dean looked up at the brown eyed beauty with a teasing grin. "Fill me in…is it possible that you have a thing for Dr. Novak?"

She gawked at him. "Uh, no I don't have a 'thing' for Castiel." Her eyes lingered at him for a moment, then back at her clipboard.

"Well if you did, I really couldn't blame you-"

"Are you even straight?" she blurted without thinking.

_Who lit the fuse on her tampon? _Dean wondered. He smirked and glanced sideways at the wall.

"Because…YOU sure seem like the one with a 'thing' for Castiel," she snapped, and quickly looked down in embarrassment. Dean looked back at her with disbelief. "Am I sensing some jealousy, sweet cheeks?"

"EXCUSE me?" She gritted her teeth. "Don't you call me-" –she stopped herself when she noticed Dean's stunned facial expression. She lowered her voice and chuckled quietly. "At least you admit it. And you're in luck, because Dr. Novak just so happens to be—"

"Good morning Dean," Castiel greeted from the doorway. He always seemed to pop in at the best moments.

"Cas! Aren't we all so glad to see you?" Anna snickered behind her clipboard, and Dean became aware that it was probably from the little nickname he gave Castiel. He decided to get her back. "Anna just can't seem to stop talking about you."

She glared at Dean, then turned to the doctor. "Dean here is trying to convince me that you've got this whole 'Doctor Sexy' vibe going on. I don't get it, but he seems insistent."

Castiel's eyes grew large. Anna gently pushed him aside and walked out the door without another peek at Dean.

Castiel froze for a moment to comprehend what Anna had said. His speechless patient nervously picked at a tiny thread hanging off his jeans.

"So, stitches!" Castiel said suddenly. Dean thought it possible that the doctor decided to forget the last minute. "I bet you're ready to get 'em out and never come back here again!"

Dean nodded enthusiastically. He didn't mind seeing Castiel, it was the back-n-forth that he disliked. And now that bitchy nurse, too.

Castiel sat in the rolly-chair his nurse vacated and rolled towards Dean. He pulled on a new pair of latex gloves and picked up some forceps.

"This shouldn't hurt, so don't worry," he told Dean. Dean watched as Castiel interlaced their fingers so that the palm would be stretched. _I got to first base with my doctor. Score. _Dean thought. At this point, Dean had given up trying to figure out if his attraction to Cas was for real or merely a result of jealousy. He could lie to the world, but he couldn't lie to himself that he kinda wanted to bone the guy.

Castiel expertly pulled out the stitches and was finished in no time.

"Looky there, we're all done," he said with a small smile. He affectionately held Dean's hand in both of his own, resulting in a mini-war in Dean's brain. He couldn't decide if he liked it or if he wanted Cas to please, please, _please _pull his hands away. For a moment, the men stared at each other without moving a muscle. The air hung still, and all outside sounds were zoned out. Dean soaked in the image of Castiel. His ebony sex-hair. His gorgeous cerulean eyes. His soft pink lips. His day old stubble. His slightly split chin. "Dean." His deep sexy voice. "Dean?" The way he said his name. "Dean are you alright?"

Dean snatched back his hand and blinked rapidly to regain his focus. Hiding a smile, Castiel stood to appropriately address his patient.

"Since you're okay, I should go see my other patients."

"Yeah of course." Dean nodded, unable to look the doctor in his eyes. Cas went to leave but stopped in the doorway. He was laughing.

"What is it?" asked Dean, beginning to feel self-conscious.

"Doctor Sexy M.D."

Dean gulped. Surely he didn't believe what Anna had said. The lying bitch.

Cas turned back to Dean. "If we ignore the ridiculous amount of inaccuracies regarding a typical hospital atmosphere," –Castiel gave Dean a gleaming grin- "It's actually a pretty good show."

On that note, Castiel vanished from the room. Dean was –in the manliest way possible- swooning.

"Why is he so damn perfect?" he wondered aloud.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys and girls! Sorry it took a while for me to update, I feel like I've been working nonstop. Ugh. Anyway, I'm attempting to make the chapters a bit longer so I'm slowly trying to achieve that. Woo. Please R&R my dears, and Enjoy!**

* * *

The following night, Dean shoveled lasagna into his cakehole. He couldn't help it, his sister in law was a really good cook.

"Don't worry Dean. There's plenty left in the dish if you wanna…slow down a bit," Sam said to his brother. Jess didn't mind. It was a compliment, and she wasn't really bothered by anything tonight, she was too excited for her Ultrasound that weekend. They would know the baby's sex, they would paint his or her room, they would start buying the rest of the furniture…everything would fall into place.

"Lawrence Memorial is a really nice facility, isn't it Dean?" she smiled at him across the table.

Dean was momentarily confused by the question, he thought they were still on the topic of his table manners. "Yeah I guess so," he responded.

Sam turned to his wife. "Their obstetrics wing or whatever, that's off of the Maine Street entrance, right?"

While the two discussed, Dean stopped mid-chew. _Lawrence Memorial. Castiel. _His heartbeat quickened at the thought of seeing him again. Well, this wasn't exactly _his _opportunity to go back…unless he could find a way to get invited…

"Not gonna lie Jess, this'll be a big moment for all of us," Dean said between bites. "You have to promise me you'll call as soon as you know if the kid will learn ballet or baseball."

"Of course," she agreed.

Sam glanced from Dean to Jess. "Why don't you just come with us? I know you don't work Saturdays anyway," he offered, and Dean hid a victorious grin. _He took the bait._

"No no, I know it's supposed to be an intimate family moment," Dean protested with a fictitious frown.

"But you are family. Jess and I would love to have you there."

Dean peeked at Jess, her smiling nod giving him permission to accept the offer. "Only if you insist," he said with a shrug. _Score. _Dean knew that her appointment and Castiel would be on opposite sides of the hospital, but if he was there anyway, he would HAVE to say hi to his angel in scrubs, right? Of course he did. Of _course _he did.

* * *

"I can't BELIEVE Sam is going to miss this," Jess pouted. She and Dean were sitting in his Impala, on the way to her Ultrasound appointment. "I don't care that he has 'an emergency meeting with a client,' I want my husband with me today!"

"It sucks, but I guess he has no control over what happens with work," Dean commented, though deep down, something was weird about the situation. Dean knew his brother better than he knew himself, and when Sam told Dean and Jess about being dragged away with client drama, something was not right. His voice, his behavior…he acted the way he did when he was lying. Dean shoved the thought down. He desperately wanted to give his brother the benefit of the doubt.

"Dean, this is Dr. Gabriel, my Ultrasound tech," Jess introduced after they arrived at the hospital. "Doctor, this my brother-in-law, Dean."

"Pleasure to meet you sir," said the shifty-eyed doctor. His dark brown hair was slicked back and he had this little grin that made you think he knew something you didn't. "Where's ol' Sammy at, Jessica?"

"Oh, he had a work thing he couldn't get out of," she explained hastily. Dean thought he might of heard a tiny bit of doubt in her voice. "But I'm happy Dean was able to come here with me," she said, giving her brother-in-law a side hug. Dean returned the little half-hug, earning a suspicious sideways stare from Dr. Gabriel.

"Why don't you just lay down and we'll get started," the doctor said slowly.

Dean watched as the doctor squirted what appeared to be blue Jell-O on Jess's exposed belly, while she chewed her lip nervously. He was crouched next to her to get a better view of the screen, and he felt her squeeze his arm. Through her fingers, he could feel her heart pound as Dr. Gabriel lowered the transducer thingy onto her gelled-up skin. Dean and Jess were both deathly silent as the doctor moved the transducer across her stomach.

"Well would you look at that," said Dr. Gabriel.

"What is it?" Jess asked in a panicky tone.

"You see that moving part there? That's a hand. The baby is waving at you. It's saying 'hi mommy.'" Dean wrinkled his nose at the doctor's cheesiness. He squinted at the screen, but the image didn't exactly look human to him.

Dr. Gabriel's hand moved sideways on her belly, giving them a side shot of the baby. Dean shivered now that he could see its facial features…sort of. Jess smiled and gently swatted Dean's arm.

"You see that? It looks just like your brother," Jess observed. Dean turned his head sideways to get another angle, but still couldn't see how the hell she could tell it looked like Sam. He pondered for a moment, wondering what pronoun "it" would soon be replaced with. That's when the doctor spoke up.

"Would you like to know the sex?" Dr. Gabriel had a special glint in his eye, one that screamed I-know-something-you-don't-know. Jess inhaled a deep shaky breath.

"Do share your knowledge with the rest of the class," Dean said before Jess could answer.

"Jessica, you'll be happy to know that your first child will be a beautiful baby boy," Dr. Gabriel announced with a satisfied grin. Clearly this moment was his favorite part of the job.

Jess clasped her hands over her mouth, though it did nothing to hide her huge smile. _A boy. _Dean thought._ Another male Winchester to join the pack. _Dean couldn't stop the excited thoughts about the kid's future from flooding his mind. He thought of taking him fishing, and showing him how to throw a football, and eventually teaching him how to drink and hustle pool…..all the things he knew Sam wouldn't do. Sam would take care of the silly things, like making good grades and being nice.

Dean pulled out his phone to tell his brother the news.

* * *

Sam hadn't answered, and Jess decided she should tell him in person rather than have Dean leave a message on his voicemail.

"Ready to go?" Jess asked Dean after Dr. Gabriel was finished with her.

"Actually, I kinda wanted to see Dr. Novak," Dean attempted to say as nonchalantly as possible. He knew it sounded weird as soon as the words were out of his mouth, but he hoped she wouldn't question him too much.

"Dr. Novak? The surgeon dude who stitched up your hand, right? What do you want with him? Is your hand hurting?"

Dean searched his mind desperately for an acceptable response. "I-I just never got to tell him thanks. He did a good job taking care of me, and I wanted to let him know."

He braced himself for further questioning, but Jess's worried eyes softened. "That's really sweet of you, Dean. C'mon, let's go find him." She hooked her arm through his and pulled him down the hospital corridor. He was surprised she actually fell for that nice guy crap.

As Jess waited in the lobby, Dean spotted a familiar red-haired nurse.

"Do you _live _here?" he asked Anna, a cocky grin greeting her slight frown. He could understand doctors having ridiculous work hours, but he thought nurses had at least a little bit of a life. That ginger bitch was always on location, however.

"No, but I'm starting to think _you _do," she scoffed. "What are you doing here, Dean?"

"Oh, I was just passing by and I thought I would come and say hi."

Dean thought he saw the faintest smile form on her face, but she looked down at the floor.

"Oh. Hello then," she said quietly.

"So where's Castiel?" he asked, not wanting to waste any more time making small talk with Anna. When she looked back up at him, she was frowning again. "Your boyfriend's a little busy at the moment," she spat. Dean snorted.

"There's the Anna that I remember," he smirked. He hated being mocked by her, but he really wanted to see Cas, so he pressed further.

"Come on, just- where is he?"

"Why?"

"Anna," he warned. She folded her arms across her chest and huffed in submission.

"He's finishing up with a patient. He'll be out in just a minute," she said, without meeting his eyes.

"Thanks Anna, you're a real sweetheart."

"Whatever."

They stared at each other for a moment just before Dean spotted Castiel out of the corner of his eye.

"There he is," Dean said to himself as Anna disappeared. His heart began to pound at the sight of him, and he struggled to keep his breathing at a normal rate. It didn't take long for the doctor to spot the handsome flannel-clad man and he approached with a bright smile.

"Dean Winchester. You're back." The two shook hands, Dean shivering slightly at the physical contact. _What's wrong with you man? Don't be such a girl, _he told himself.

"Hey Cas, my brother's—" He stopped when he saw Castiel's mouth twitch at the sound of the nickname. "I'm sorry, I just thought Cas, Castiel—"

"It's okay Dean," the doctor interrupted. "You can call me Cas if you want. I really kind of like it."

Dean raised an eyebrow, and Cas gave him a tiny, cute little smile. _Cute. Cute? I'm not supposed to think he's cute but…God damn his face! _Dean shook away his thoughts. "Anyway, my brother's wife had an appointment with Dr. Gabriel today, and I wanted to stop by and say thank you, I guess….I mean I guess say thank you. Wait no, not 'I guess,' I _know_ thank you—not 'no' thank-you, I mean thanks for taking care of me. Well no, that sounds weird. I mean like—"

Cas held his hands up to stop Dean. "It was my pleasure, Dean." He let out a small chuckle. "You know, even while you were put under anesthesia, you were such a…._kind _patient. I don't get that all the time."

Dean wondered for a moment what he meant by that...but he didn't have to wonder for long.

"You don't remember what you said at that time, do you?" Cas asked, an amused expression playing across his face.

"No…" Dean answered slowly, afraid to ask what he's talking about. What could have Dean said that Cas thought was so damn funny?

"Well, first you compared yourself to Jesus," Cas recalled.

Dean let out a small sigh of relief. _I called myself Jesus? Bitch please. I do that on a regular basis. Next._

Cas blushed suddenly. "You also…you complimented my eyes—thank you by the way, that was very nice—and…well uh, you told me that I'm _sexy_."

Cas somehow managed to keep eye contact with Dean, even when the other man's eyes grew wide with shock. _I- whaaa- What did I…? Why the hell would I say all that for? _The air was tense as they stared at each other. Dean found his voice again.

"Cas I…I'm sorry." Cas shook his head.

"I'm not looking for an apology, Dean."

"Then what are you looking for?"

Cas looked down at his feet and shifted nervously. Dean gazed at him incredulously, wondering why Cas brought up the subject in the first place. Why the hell couldn't he just ignore what Dean said and move on? Pretend it never happened?

"I don't know, it's just…you're a good guy, Dean, and I don't meet that many good guys I actually like. Not ones like you and I, at least…"

Dean didn't understand anything Cas was trying to say. _Guys like you and I? For the love of God, Cas, tell me what that means._

"….I wanted to let you know," Cas continued, "that I reciprocate your feelings and I'd love to get to know you better."

Then it dawned on Dean. _Holy shit. He's trying to ask me out. Holy. Freaking. Shit. _He couldn't explain what his insides were feeling at the moment, or even if it was good or bad. He only knew what his answer to Cas was.

At that moment, Castiel's medical beeper went off. A pair of nurses burst through the double doors at the end of the hallway rolling a gurney where a screaming man was laid.

"Dr. Novak!" called a male nurse, running towards Cas. "We need to perform an emergency amputation."

Castiel sent Dean an apologetic glance, and ran to the operating room where they had taken the patient. Dean stood frozen in place, his eyes fixed in the direction that Cas had disappeared in. _Well Damn. I guess I'll just have to come back later. Again._


	5. Chapter 5

**Ooooo, Dean and Cas's first date! *fangirls***

**Thank you tons to everyone who has followed and favorited, and especially those who've reviewed because I read and reread every one and they just make me so happy :')**

**As usual, read, review and enjoy!**

* * *

Monday evening after work, Dean returned to Lawrence Memorial Hospital, with no reason besides the want to talk to Cas. It was almost 8:30 in the evening by the time Dean pushed through the glass double doors, humming "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin. After asking a blond doctor about Cas, Dean was pointed in the direction of the cafeteria. He felt a bit embarrassed of himself, searching for the guy all the time. He approached the door of the cafeteria slowly, not wanting Cas to see him come in. He spotted him sitting with a group of nurses near a corner, all sipping coffee. One of the brunette nurses was getting animated with her storytelling, and Dean snuck up to the dessert line while the group was distracted.

"Good evening sir," greeted a young man standing behind the counter. "What can I get you?"

Dean eyed the variety of pies on display inside the glass counter, all seducing him with their golden crust and fruit-packed middles. With Warrant's "Cherry Pie" suddenly getting stuck in Dean's head, he decided, "Light cappuccino and a cherry pie, please."

Dean was able to sit down with his pie and coffee without Cas noticing him. He pulled a fork out of its plastic wrapping and dug into the pie as if it was the sole reason he came here. After only the third bite however, Dean looked up to see Cas, about forty feet away, squinting at him as if in disbelief. Dean wiggled his fingers at him in a little wave, and giving him an 'oh, didn't see you there' raise of his eyebrows. Cas looked like he might have smiled, but he covered his mouth with his hand. He turned back to the nurses and whispered something, and they all very un-casually turned to look at Dean, giggling uncontrollably. _Shit shit shit Cas, you told them about me, you told them, didn't you? _Very aware of being watched, Dean awkwardly sipped his coffee and stared at a fake plant nearby. By the time he looked back, he saw Cas walk across the cafeteria towards him. As he approached, Dean started making a beeping noise, imitating a doctor's medical pager. "Beep. Beep. Beep. Oh Cas, you'd better go get that. Beep. Beep. Beep."

"Dean, you must be less frequent with your casual hospital visits, people are starting to think you're stalking me," Cas teased with a smile. He peeked over his shoulder at his nurse friends, they were trying -and failing- to appear cool.

"What makes you think I'm _not_?" Dean flirted. He motioned to the chair across from him. "Sit down, stay a while."

Cas set his own coffee on the table and took the seat. He gazed at Dean with his deep blue eyes, unsure of what to say to him. Dean pointed to his dessert with his fork. "Have you tried this pie?"

"I have. It's a bit bleak for my taste."

"Really? 'Cause I've had quite a bit of pie in my time, and this is- this is pretty high up on my delicious pie meter," Dean said, raising a hand up in the air to show just how high. Cas continued to stare at him, and Dean had the brief urge to grab him by the coat lapels and feast on his pretty little mouth. He tossed his fork onto the table in defeat. "Okay you're right. This pie sucks."

Cas looked at Dean with a hint of pity, like he felt bad for him and his shitty pie. "My mother made the best pie in the world," he said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Luckily, before she died, she taught me most of her recipes."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Castiel Novak. Serious business surgeon, baking extraordinaire."

Cas shook his head, chuckling lightheartedly. "I'm not the greatest in the baking category, but…" He smiled mischievously at Dean. "…I'll let you be the judge of that."

Dean's tongue poked out between his teeth when he smiled, and Cas grinned back in victory. "Gladly. We'll have to make an appointment," Dean replied, chewing the tip of his thumb. Cas's gaze drifted towards Dean's mouth, then slowly back to his eyes.

"Why not tomorrow evening? Tuesdays and Thursdays I get off at six," Cas offered.

"Sounds good."

"Good."

"After we watch the new Star Trek movie."

"Fine."

"In 3D."

"Even better."

The two stared at each other for a moment, grinning like idiots. Over Cas's shoulder, Dean saw the group of nurses, all peering in their direction trying to figure out what the two were talking about. Instead of glaring back at them, Dean gave them the 'sup nod and wiggled his tongue in the creepiest, dirtiest way possible, causing them to snap their heads back to their table in embarrassment. Cas snorted and put his hands over his mouth to muffle his laughter while Dean smugly dusted some invisible lint of his shoulders.

Dean reached towards Cas's chest, which was still shaking from laughter, and pulled a pen out of his front pocket. He unscrunched his napkin and scribbled his phone number onto it. "What did you tell them about me, Cas?"

Cas cleared his throat and looked up at Dean with wide eyes, feigning innocence. "I haven't really spoken of you, they just like to…assume things."

Dean glimpsed back at the nurses, who were back to spying on them. "You sure about that?"

Cas tilted his head to the side, reminding Dean of a confused puppy. "I barely know you, Dean. What could I have possibly said to them?"

Dean rolled his eyes and grabbed his empty coffee cup and the remains of his pie. "Whatever, dude. Just uh, text me okay?" Dean stuffed the napkin in Cas's pocket and threw his trash away. The second he exited the cafeteria, He could hear a series of squeals and "ooooo's" coming from the nurses. Dean shook his head and smiled to himself. _Said nothing of me? 'Said nothing' my ass._

* * *

The next day at work, Dean showed up early in hopes that Bobby would allow him to leave earlier that evening. Dean was great at what he did, to the point where he could run a repair shop of his own, if he really wanted to. The fact that he chooses not to, and since Bobby loves him like a son, Dean was usually allowed to get away with little things like this.

"Whatcha wanna leave early for? Got a hot date?" Bobby asked him with vague annoyance.

"Well, um, kind of, yeah." Dean answered honestly. Bobby shook his head, knowing that at least a proper date was better than the one-night stands Dean usually took part in.

"How early?"

"Mmmmmaybe around six or six-thirty."

Bobby sighed. Why he spoiled Dean so much, he had no clue. "Boy, you better work hard and fast this afternoon, or I'm telling you…"

"Thanks Bobby. You're a wonderful guy."

"Whatever. What's her name, anyway?"

Dean paused for a moment. Now was not the time or place to have friendly chat about Dean's newfound bisexuality, so he answered instead with the first chick name to come to mind. "Her name is Anna."

"And how exactly did you meet this Anna?"

"She's a nurse at the hospital that I went to for my hand thing," said Dean. "Red hair, bangin' bod." Dean pressed his lips together and spanked the air. _Most _of what he was saying was the truth, just not every detail.

"Okay okay," Bobby held his hand up. "That's quite enough information."

"Thanks again, man." Dean pointed at him with both hands as he walked backwards out of the room.

"Idjit."

* * *

Just before Dean got off work that evening, he received a text.

_It's Castiel. Meet me at the Massachusetts Street theater at 6:30._

Dean looked at the time. _5:57. _"Hey Bobby, I'm gonna head out now."

There was only one customer present at the time, and Bobby had one of the younger mechanics, Adam, to help him out.

"Alright, son. Don't blow it," Bobby told him.

Dean hurried home so that he could shower and find some decent clothes to wear. He ended up staring into his closet, naked and dripping wet. _What the fuck are you supposed to wear when you go on a date with another guy? Do I dress nice? Am I supposed to wear cologne? _His eyes darted from his flannel to his dress shirts, denim to slacks. _Seriously, what the hell do I wear? _Dean never worried about his clothing when he went out with girls, he didn't know why it bothered him now. _I need to stop being a girl about this and do whatever I usually do. _He pulled out a nice pair of jeans and a red flannel shirt, and dressed quickly so he wouldn't have time to think about it too much. He rolled up his sleeves and spritzed on a tiny bit of cologne, just as he would a normal outing. _What in God's name am I getting myself into?_

Cas was waiting outside the theater when Dean pulled up in his shiny black Impala. Dean told himself several times to stay cool, but the bubbling nervousness inside his stomach would not fade. There was something…something about Castiel that drained him of his usual confidence. Either way, he managed to swagger over to the front of the theater. Cas was leaning against the brick wall, browsing on his phone, looking effortlessly cool. He wore a sky blue short sleeve button-down, a bit fitted with the top two buttons undone, a shiny Rolex watch, and an expensive pair of jeans – probably designer, not that Dean could really tell. Rather than being simply combed like it usually was, his hair looked like he styled it a bit, with the front of it swept upward. In short—he looked hot. Like, Dean wasn't sure if he was feeling jealousy or lust, _hot._ Probably a mixture of both.

Cas noticed Dean approach and flashed him a bright smile. His eyes drifted over Dean's body with obvious satisfaction. "Well hello there, Mr. Abercrombie."

Dean looked down at his own outfit then back to Cas's sophisticated one. "We didn't exactly establish a dress code," he said defensively.

"Don't misunderstand me, I think you look great." He looked up and down Dean once again. "Really great."

Dean folded his arms across his chest, feeling self-conscious. "Are we going to get tickets or are you gonna stand there drooling at me?"

"I'm going to drool at you," Cas replied before looking back up at his face. "I've already got the tickets." He held up two _Star Trek: Into Darkness_ tickets and two pairs of 3D glasses.

"You bought my ticket? Oh how _sweet,_" Dean said, oozing sarcasm. "You gonna buy me a lovely dinner at the Olive Garden, too?"

"I gotta say Dean, I didn't take you for a high maintenance one," Cas teased. Dean made a face at him, and Cas laughed. "No no. I'll do better than that. But that'll wait."

Dean looked at him curiously, wondering what Cas could have prepared for him.

"For right now, we should go inside so we don't miss the trailers."

* * *

Besides the slight leaning towards each other and Dean's arm around Cas's seat, there really was no PDA in the movie theater between the two. Dean's silent fanboying throughout the movie seemed to amuse and intrigue his date, and Cas spent a considerable chunk of time staring at Dean's kid-in-Disneyland facial expressions.

"I don't know how you can deny it, Dean, but Spock and Kirk are so gay for each other its sad," Cas stated with vague amusement. They were walking back towards the parking lot now that the movie was over.

"No man, he was totally in love with Uhura. Kirk just kept getting in the way," argued Dean.

"But that's the point. He has a soft spot for Kirk, and that's because he loves him. Uhura really had nothing to do with anything. She served solely as a means of emphasizing what the two truly mean to each other."

"Whatever you say, Cas." Dean knew the debate could go on forever if he didn't stop it. They had now reached Cas's car, a silver Lexus, and Dean needed to know where they were going before returning to his own car. "Tell me once again where we're eating."

"Oh yes. We're going to my house." Dean raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"I told you I'd make you pie, so we might as well eat there, too," Cas clarified. Dean remembered the pie conversation from the day before, but he didn't think Cas was serious about it. He thought it was his way of flirting (which worked magnificently). This was quite a pleasant surprise.

"We had an appointment," Cas said with a small smile.

"I'll just follow you back to your place, then," Dean decided. "What the hell we standing here for, I'm starving!"


	6. Chapter 6

***wipes sweat off forehead* That was a long chapter! Okay, this one and maybe the next couple of chapters are mostly happy and cute, but don't grow bored yet, because shit **_**will **_**go down. Mwahahaha!**

**As usual, read, favorite, follow, and PLEASE review. They're what motivate me to write more!**

* * *

39.

39 was the number of one-night stands Dean has had since he was 19 years old. On average, that's 3.25 each year. Not _too_ many, until you consider the six committed relationships he was in in the duration of those twelve years, ranging from two weeks to fourteen months each. The number of dates he has gone on in his lifetime, including the ones with the same woman, reaches over 100. In conclusion, one could say Dean had plenty of dating experience. The date he had tonight, however, was one of his very favorites, and one that will make him smile years after the night ends.

* * *

Dean followed Cas across town to a pretty blue house on Hartland Drive. He couldn't really tell what it looked like in the darkness, built he could see that it was a bit big for a guy living alone. While Cas pulled into the garage Dean observed the neighborhood. _Just a perfect little suburban area for an apple pie life,_ he thought.

Cas motioned for him to come in before the garage door closed, and Dean followed obediently. His garage was a lot neater than Dean's, with a noticeable absence of building tools. As the two entered the main part of the house, Cas flicked on the lights and Dean admired the chill décor and high ceilings. A few photographs on the fireplace mantel caught his eye, and he made his way over to them with sudden curiosity. In one of the photos, a younger Cas wore a set of graduation robes. He stood next to an older smiling woman, who had a slight resemblance to the young man.

"Is that your mother?"

Cas walked over to stand beside Dean, resting an elbow on his shoulder. "Yes sir, at my high school graduation."

"She was beautiful," Dean commented. The woman had long, flowing blonde hair and the same piercing blue eyes as Cas. Her smile was bright, genuine and proud.

"She really was," Cas said softly. "This was taken four months after my father left, and only five weeks before she passed."

Dean turned to gaze thoughtlessly at the room. Neutral tones, contemporary furniture, abstract paintings and the brick fireplace created a cozy atmosphere. Dean wanted to comfort Cas, but it was difficult trying to that _and _avoid the topic of his childhood. "I can relate," he said simply.

Cas peered up at him thoughtfully, expecting him to elaborate, but Dean didn't continue. "You haven't really talked about your family."

Dean tensed. Why, why is family a necessary topic of discussion all the time? Why? "My mom died before I made it to kindergarten, and my asshole father kicked it and went to hell four years ago. I'm not about to hold hands and laugh and tell stories about dear old daddy and keeping my brother alive and out of trouble."

Seeing Cas's wounded expression, Dean realized his words came out more bitterly than he expected. "I'm—I'm sorry Cas. It's just- my parents, they weren't a major presence in my childhood." _If you'd even call it that, _he added silently. Cas drew close to him and rested a hand on his arm. Under his touch, Dean relaxed immediately. "I get it, Dean. And I didn't plan on exchanging stories about absent fathers this evening, I think that would be pretty lame." Cas managed to get a tiny smile out of Dean, and smiled himself. "Instead, I thought I'd make some stuffed burgers and strawberry-cherry pie….if that's okay with you."

Dean's eyes grew wide with childlike excitement. "First you heal my hand and then you give me Star Trek, burgers _and _pie? Cas….are you sure you're not an angel?"

Cas clasped his hands together and said in a mock-girly voice, "Maybe you just bring out the angel in me, Dean." He even fluttered his eyelashes.

"If I'm lucky, I'll be able to bring out the demon in you, too," Dean replied with a cocky grin. This caught Cas off guard, and he stared at his feet trying to hide his intense blushing. Dean saw. He liked having that effect on him.

Cas scratched shyly at his stubble. "Well um, the doorway to the kitchen is right uh, right behind you," he managed.

In the kitchen, Dean sat at the table while Cas rummaged through cabinets and the refrigerator. He gathered some thawed meat, a small electric grill, and a few other ingredients.

"Anything I can do?" Dean asked him, not wanting to watch Cas do all the work.

"You can make the bacon while I put the pie together."

"Bacon…?"

"It's going inside the patties, along with cheese and a few vegetables," Cas explained.

Dean nodded, and at the mention of bacon, he realized just how hungry he was. It was half past nine, and he hadn't had anything to eat since lunch.

Dean fried the bacon as Cas poured the strawberry and cherry filling into the pie crust. Cas had prepared the filling an =d pie crusts that morning, and Dean was flattered that he planned everything ahead of time. He must've been pretty excited about their little date.

"Dean, I can't help but ask…" Cas scraped the bottom of the bowl the fruity filling occupied. "Am I…is this…Have you, have you ever tasted the rainbow before?"

Dean's face twisted in confusion at the question. "The fuck? Are we talking about Skittles?"

"No." Cas put the bowl and spoon down and turned to face Dean. "I mean…have you ever even been out with a man before?"

Dean was silent for a moment, and the only noise in the room was the sizzling of the bacon.

"I—well, I-"

"You don't have to share anything you don't want to," Cas assured him as he began cutting strips of crust to layer on top of the pie.

"No it's fine, I mean I guess you could say it's my first time-" he hesitated before continuing, "-tasting the rainbow."

Cas chuckled. "Could've fooled me."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, somewhat relieved that he didn't act like a total noob.

"Well, in the movie, when Khan had the little shower scene, and you…I don't know."

"What, you think I have a thing for shirtless Benedict Cumberbatch?"

Cas raised his eyebrows. "Oh and you even know his name," He chided.

"I watch a lot of movies! I know actors."

"Actors…" Cas drew out the word, eyeing him cunningly.

"AND actresses!" Dean exclaimed.

"Really Dean, for what reason do you have to get defensive over this particular subject with me?"

Dean stabbed the last of the bacon with a fork and removed it from the pan. "I don't have a thing for Benedict Cumberbatch," he pouted.

"Really? Because I think Mr. Bigdick Cumbercock is rather sexy," Cas said wistfully. He looked over at Dean and licked his lips.

"Go to hell, Cas."

* * *

The patties were stuffed and grilling as the pie baked. Dean and Cas got into a conversation about TV shows (Dean enjoys South Park and The Simpsons) which somehow led to a discussion over favorite animals (Cas thinks cats are communists) which led to a debate over government-provided healthcare (not really a debate, Cas was ranting). When Cas was done grilling the patties and toasting the burger buns, he handed Dean a burger and a beer and sat down across from him.

"Okay Dean. Are you ready for this?"

"I'm ready for this."

"Are you READY for this?!"

"I am DAMN ready for this!"

"Okay. Take a bite."

Dean picked up the thick burger and Cas watched intently as he stretched his mouth around it. He chomped through the beef and felt the cheese ooze onto his tongue, and he let out a satisfied grunt.

"Thoughts?"

"Mmmm."

"You like it?" Cas asked him.

"Mmmhmmm." Dean nodded enthusiastically.

"Wonderful." Cas started eating his own burger, humming and grunting along with Dean. It became a sort of conversation that consisted mostly of vaguely sexual sounding noises.

"So how long have you lived here?" Dean asked before popping the last bite into his mouth.

"Almost seven years, I believe."

At that moment, the oven beeped, indicating the pie was ready. Cas jumped up and grabbed some oven mitts from the counter. They had little tomatoes on them.

"Really? All this time, you've lived what, eight minutes away from me. Huh."

"Wished we would've met sooner? Oh Dean. Sweet little Dean," Cas teased.

"I meant that it's—" Dean stopped himself, choosing not to let Cas feed off of his defensive tactics. "Where did you grow up?" He asked instead.

Cas carefully pulled the pie out of the oven, and the room was filled with a delicious aroma. Dean wondered briefly if this was what Heaven smells like.

"I lived across state over in Colby up until I was ten, but then my family moved to Chicago and I had to adjust to city life." The pie was set down to cool, and Cas made his way back over to the table. "I actually graduated from KU, and fell in love with this town while I attended. Lawrence is sort of like Colby's and Chicago's love child. Anyway, after med school I started my residency in Kansas City, then finished it here."

Dean nodded, impressed by Cas's busy, studious lifestyle. "And exactly at what point did you become Bobby Flay?"

Cas shrugged. "I don't have much time for passive activities like TV, and after spending 21 years of my life sitting in a classroom, I can't enjoy books anymore. So, I cook."

Dean couldn't help but feel insignificant. He was smart, but he hadn't gone to college and instead began fixing cars like his dad. He constantly compared himself to his brother, who had recently graduated law school, gotten married and has an oncoming child. Then there was Cas, who helped save lives on a daily basis _and _found time to become a master chef. He was…he was too good for him. Dean subconsciously scratched his palm.

"How's your hand, by the way?" asked Cas.

"Okay, I guess." Cas picked up Dean's hand and peered at it closely. He stroked the small scar with his thumb.

"So…no pain?"

Dean watched, mesmerized as Cas's thumb moved slowly across his palm and up one of Dean's fingers. Such a light touch, but Dean was nearly made mute by it. He took longer than the necessary amount of time to answer. "No pain."

Cas looked into Dean's eyes like he wanted to ask him something, but he said nothing. Dean stared back at him, admiring once again how attractive he is.

"Do you want the pie now?" Cas asked, still holding Dean's hand.

"Pie." Dean looked dumbfounded, he actually forgot about the pie for a minute. "Pie. Yes, pie, right."

Cas stood, making Dean's hand fall to the table with a _plop._ He served out the slices and set one in front of Dean. "If you enjoy fruit pie at all, you'll love this," he promised. "But the middle is still hot, so be careful."

Strawberries and cherries had fallen out of the side of the slice, and Dean scooped them up with his spoon. Upon shoveling them into his mouth, an explosion of sweet fruitiness swept past his lips like wildfire. His mind became detached from his body, and his spoon made back-to-back trips from his plate to his mouth.

Cas's face expressed a mixture of smugness and slight worry. "How high up does it make it on your 'delicious pie meter'?"

"I fink oo bwoke it," Dean said with a hand over his mouth, trying not to let chunks of pie fall out.

"I see." Cas showed a bit more class eating his own piece, and Dean felt a little embarrassed of himself. "You have a bit of…" Cas pointed at his face.

Dean felt the juice sitting on the side of his mouth, and purposely wiped the wrong side.

"Other side."

Dean wiped the correct side with his napkin, but he completely avoided the red filling. His smirk revealed to Cas that he was just messing with him.

"Get it for me." Dean leaned over the table, jutting out his chin.

"You can get it yourself, big boy."

"But it can be like in all those romance movies!"

"This isn't one of those unrealistic romance movies, Dean."

"Get it."

"No."

"GET IT."

"I'm not wiping your mouth for you."

"Caaaaaaas!" Cas rolled his eyes and continued eating his own pie.

"Fine then. Meanie." Dean stretched his tongue out and slid it up the side of his mouth, surprisingly able to get every drop.

"That's attractive," Cas muttered with a disgusted look on his face. Or was it an impressed look?

Dean looked up at the clock hanging on a wall, and saw that over an hour had passed since arriving at Cas's place. "Time is making fools of us again."

Cas looked at the clock then paused, looking temporarily confused. "Wait, did you just quote Dumbledore?"

Dean smiled, pleasantly surprised at Cas's knowledge. "Kudos, Castiel. And you say you don't have time for TV."

"Everyone has time for Harry Potter." Cas gazed at Dean for a minute, like he was the most intriguing creature on the planet. "You know you're really not who you appear to be, Dean. You look like you could fit in with those arrogant country boys I grew up around in Colby, but really you're a smart, funny, gorgeous little geek who happens to secretly like men."

Dean instinctively opened his mouth to protest, but he stopped. Cas was right. Dean spent his entire life hiding his real personality around people, mainly because his father wouldn't approve of him otherwise. At that moment, he realized how little even the people closest to him really knew about Dean Winchester.

"Well congratulations Cas, you seem to already know me better than my brother Sam does."

"Maybe, or maybe he does know and just goes along with your façade."

Dean thought about this for a second, considered the possibility that Sam could see right through him. _Sam would've mentioned it. He would have called me out on my weirdness. He thinks I'm an emotionless smartass with no respect for women._

"Either way, you're brother obviously cares a lot about you…my brothers don't give a shit about me."

Cas hadn't mentioned any siblings before. This was new. "But anyway, the night is young, and I have more beer and Twister."

* * *

"Wow I—I usually don't get this far with a guy on the first date," Cas muttered, his breath a little strangled from his position. Trying to get his right hand to reach a green dot, his head came dangerously close to Dean's crotch.

"Tell me about it." Deans face was just above Cas's butt, but if he were to be completely honest with himself, he appreciated the opportunity check him out. Castiel's booty was rounded in _all _the right places, and it looked so cute and slappable. Like Scarlett Johansson's.

"Dean did you hear me?"

"Huh, what?"

"I said, left foot yellow."

Dean ducked his head down to look at his feet. "It's already on yellow!"

"So move it to a different dot!"

Dean moved his foot the only possible direction, even more left, so now he was in a half-split and Cas's face was even more in his crotch. Cas burst into a fit of giggles.

"You're enjoying yourself too much, Cas."

They each had cut themselves off at three beers, so they were sober enough to think pretty clearly, but tipsy enough that awkward moments were funny instead.

"Deeean. Your-" his laughing interrupted his speech. "-your fly is _open_."

"You waited until your nose is practically _in_ my pants to tell me that?!" Dean couldn't stop himself from bursting out laughing too. "Deal with it!"

Dean heard a vibration, and he looked on the floor to the right of him to see Cas's phone screen light up. "You got a text from Meg….is that your girlfriend?"

Cas moved his right hand to a blue dot. "Would you be jealous if I said she was?"

"Terribly."

"Okay then yeah, that's my girlfriend." Dean kneed Cas in the shoulder, and he started giggling again.

"It says you have eight new messages. Damn Cas, some stalker girlfriend you've got."

"I'm sure they're not all from her. Rachel and Liz said they might text me tonight, too—right foot red, Dean-those two and Meg are my work friends," he explained.

"Right. I'm sure that's normal, at 11:30 at night they just…check up on you."

Cas huffed in defeat. "FINE. I told them."

"How flattering." Cas moved his hand across the mat, and he leaned on Dean's leg for support. "You're going to make me fall!"

"Isn't that the point?"

"No, that's called cheating!" Dean's foot started to slide outwards, and he accepted the fact that he was going collapse right on top of Cas. Then, he did. Cas dropped to his elbows as Dean's face smashed into his butt. He rolled off of him before he had the chance to linger, and both were laughing hysterically.

When they finally caught their breath, Cas picked up his phone and read his messages. Dean watched closely as Cas smiled at the screen, and began typing his replies.

"You should tell them we're having sex," Dean suggested playfully.

Cas looked up at him with widened eyes. "What?! No!"

"Tell them how big it is."

"_Dean!_"

"Tell them we're having a threesome with Benedict Cumberbatch."

"Shut uuuuup!"

Dean laughed at Cas's flushing cheeks, and quieted when he remembered he had work in the next day.

"Cas I, I should get going."

Cas looked up at him, disappointment apparent.

"I got work in the morning," Dean said with a helpless shrug.

"As do I," Cas replied, eyes drifting to the carpet.

"I would stay otherwise."

"I wouldn't mind if you did anyway."

Dean gave Cas a small smirk. "You know I'll see you again soon."

Cas nodded in agreement and stood up. "Take some pie, will you?"

"You don't have to ask me twice."

As Dean put on his shoes, Cas put some of the dessert onto a plate and covered it with aluminum foil. Dean's thought were running a mile a minute. _First Date. Should I kiss him? I don't want to, but I do want to. I do like him. He's smart and kind and kind of wonderful. I don't know what to fucking do! I should probably kiss him. Would that be weird? Maybe Cas is thinking about it too. Also he is attractive…fuck it, he's hot. And damn those eyes. What if I don't and he thinks I don't like him? I've never kissed a dude before, I don't even know how it works! It's probably the same, is it the same? I wonder if Cas—_

"You alright, Dean?"

"Wha-huh? Oh yeah I'm fine."

"I meant to drive."

"Three beers? C'mon Cas, I'm not a 90 pound woman. Plus that was like, half an hour ago."

"I'm very aware that you are not a 90 pound woman by our little Twister escapade."

"That _has _to be the most sexual game ever."

"Precisely why I picked it," Cas said with a sly smile.

Dean made his way to the front door and stepped outside. Cas followed behind him with the pie, and Dean plucked it out of his hands. "Thanks for everything tonight, Cas. That's the most fun I've had in a long time."

Cas looked up into his eyes, searching, watching, waiting. Dean knew what he was waiting for, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to do it. _Please don't just stand there looking like an idiot. Make a move, do something! _Any other date, Dean would have taken control. He would have seen what he wanted, and he would have taken it, no questions asked. Any other date, Dean wouldn't care if his date thought he was too forward. Any other date, _it didn't matter._ This wasn't any other date. And they both knew it. Not wasting a second longer, Cas grabbed Dean by the collar and smashed their lips together. Dean's eyes fluttered closed as a certain warmth spread throughout his body. All the tension in his head eased away, and he responded immediately by circling his arms around Cas's waist. He tilted his head slightly as Cas's tongue glided across his lower lip, catching the lip between his teeth. When Dean deepened the kiss, Cas responded with an appreciative little moan, and he ran his hands through Dean's hair. Their chests pressed together as they kissed, and they could feel each other's heart rate quicken with arousal. Just as the tongues started to get involved, Dean forced himself to pull away. Arms still wrapped around Cas, He stood panting for a moment.

"I'm sorry," Cas breathed, staring at Dean's mouth with his gorgeous blue eyes. "I've been trying to keep myself from doing that this entire night."

"By all means, Cas, get it out of your system."

Cas caught his lips again for another kiss, softer this time. Dean released his hands from Cas's waist and moved them up to his face, stroking his temples with his thumbs.

They slowly broke away, and said their final goodnights. Cas leaned against the doorframe, watching Dean get into his car and drive off into the darkness. This would soon become routine for the two.


	7. Chapter 7

_Yes, I'm still alive. Yes, it's been twelve years since I last updated. Yes, I have excuses. No, I will not bore you with them. Yes, I will remind you what happened last time because be honest, you have no fucking clue, do you?_

_**Previously: **__Ouchie my hand. Doc, you sexy. Here, have a crib. It's a boy! Something's up with Sam. Cas. Cas. Cas. Movie, burgers, Twister, kiss._

_Now that you're caught up, please read and review! Thanks!_

* * *

"Yellow, Jess? Yellow, really?" Dean sipped his mocha Frappuccino disapprovingly.

He trailed behind Jessica, who held up a soft yellow onesie with a lion face smiling in the middle. They stood in the baby section of Target, where Jess had somehow coaxed him into shopping with her, while Sam was once again dragged away with client business. Jess would pick up any and every article of baby clothing and coo about how tiny and cute it was.

"But look at the little lion. See? It's fuzzy!" She brushed the lion's mane with her finger. Entertained by it, she set the onesie on top of the stack of clothes already in the cart. Dean winced like he had just been shot.

"My nephew is going to wear fuzzy yellow leotards."

Jess rolled her eyes. "Would it make you happy if I dressed my soon-to-be newborn in flannel and denim?"

A curvy brunette squeezed past Dean between the too-close clothing racks before he had a chance to give his snarky response. As she walked away, Dean's eyes fell on her backside. Jess saw and folded her arms. "Really?"

He didn't seem to hear her, so she smacked his arm. He flinched and glared at her as he held his assaulted limb. "What was that for?"

"This is why you're still single, Dean."

"Maybe not for much longer." He kept eye contact with her as he slurped the remainder of his Frappuccino. She eyed him questioningly.

"Wait…what do you mean?"

He shrugged and smiled before spinning on his toe and stalking away. "Hold on. Wait, Dean!"

* * *

"One chicken BLT and a bacon cheeseburger?"

"The burger goes to me." Dean leaned back as the waiter set down the food for Jess and him.

The young man smiled kindly at the two of them. "Do you guys need—"

"No. That's good, thanks," Jess answered quickly and waved a hand to dismiss him. "Okay, Dean. Spill."

"Spill what?" Dean chomped on his burger and chewed it slowly in appreciation of its meaty flavors. He loved bacon and beef so much he didn't even want to think about what his cholesterol level will be when he's fifty. This bacon cheeseburger was good. Great, even. But still not as good as Cas's stuffed burgers.

"The date, Dean. You said you'd tell me about it if I took you to Biggerson's."

"Is that what I said?" He was already regretting it.

"Yes. It is." She looked around the room as if to double-check they were in the right place. "We are at Biggerson's," she confirmed.

Dean set down the cheeseburger and folded his hands in front of him. _I'm volunteering to dig my own grave, _he thought. "What would you like to know?"

Jess stared at him disbelievingly. "Well, how about what's her name? And how did you meet her? Is that who you've been texting all day? What's she like? Feel free to start with any of those."

"You sure do ask a lot of questions, Jess."

"You _promised._"

Dean sighed and rubbed his chin. This was going to be harder than he thought; her most basic assumptions were already incorrect…but he wanted to tell someone. And Jess was the only person with which he could feel somewhat comfortable talking about this.

"Before I say anything, you have to promise you won't tell Sammy."

Jess raised her eyebrows. "Don't tell Sam? Why would you not want him to know about a simple date?" She then paused and gave him an accusing glance. "Was it with one of his old girlfriends or something? Or do we know her already? Oh my god we do know her don't we?"

Dean scratched nervously at his ear. _Crappity crap crap crap._

"Just promise me, Jess."

"Okay. Fine. I promise." She held her hands up in sincerity. Dean sighed again.

"Alright I'm just gonna say it. Four nights ago, I went out with Dr. Novak. We went to see a movie, ate at his house, and…that's pretty much it." Dean felt too awkward to mention Twister or the kiss. "To answer your earlier question, yes, that's who I've been texting." He then shoved his burger into his mouth to stop himself from saying anything else.

"Doctor Novak…." She said slowly, apparently failing to remember where she'd heard that name before. Instead of jogging her memory, Dean just watched her until the light clicked on behind her eyes.

"Your hand. The cute surgeon, Dr. Novak."

"That's the one."

"The guy."

"Yeah."

"Oh."

Jess stared at Dean as if she didn't hear him correctly. They sat in silence for a moment while she poked absent-mindedly at her sandwich. "Well this is embarrassing."

"Embarrassing? I wouldn't say I'm embarrassed."

"Not you, I mean me. I assumed things, and I'm sorry. I just didn't know that you were…so open-minded."

Dean scoffed, nibbling awkwardly on a french fry.

"So Sam doesn't know about your - erhm, bi-ness?" She grimaced at her made-up word.

"No. Of course, neither did I until I met Cas." _And he can go straight to hell for it._

"Cas? Is that really his name or is that supposed to be short for something?"

"It's short for Castiel. But apparently I'm the only one to call him that."

Jess grinned widely. "One date and you already have a _personal _nickname for him? That's adorable."

"Shut up." Dean used his cheeseburger to hide his flushing cheeks.

"What's he call you? Sar_Dean_? _Dean_dilion? _Dean_ie baby?" Dean gave Jess his best 'not amused' face, but it only encouraged her. "_Dean_asaur? Big D with the big D?"

"That's enough, Jess."

She leaned back in her chair and stroked her prominent tummy. "I'm imagining it now. You and the cute doctor…I haven't even really _seen _you two together and I already love it."

He smiled to himself as he stole one of Jess's untouched potato chips. "I gotta be honest, I didn't expect you to be so chill about this."

"Chill? As opposed to what?"

He simply shrugged at her question.

"You want me to act like I'm disappointed or some shit like that? Let's be real, Dean. Did you really think I'd give a fuck as to who you're attracted to?" The mother of a young child sitting in a nearby table shot Jess a dirty look for her language, and Jess returned it unabashed before adding, "And you know Sam wouldn't, either."

Dean raised his hand up to flag the waiter for a drink refill. "You're right. It's just something I need to tell him myself, you know?"

The waiter refilled Dean's soda and returned it to him; Jess watched intently as Dean chugged the Coke. Suddenly quiet, she frowned as she remembered something. He went to ask what's wrong when she blurted, "Sam's been drinking."

He nearly choked on an ice cube at her statement, and coughed a few times into his napkin. "S-Sam….drinking? Like alcohol?"

"No Dean. Fucking grape juice."

He ignored her sass. "Why?"

Jess just shrugged, appearing distant.

He studied her face, her slight frown darkened the room. "Is it—is it bad?"

She stared blankly at him, expression unreadable. "If he doesn't find anything at home, he'll head to the bar. They all know his name there." She began tracing patterns into the table with her fingernail as she continued, "But usually he'll spend his evening in front of the TV with beer or scotch...It's not like him, you know?"

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Dean offered earnestly.

She shook her head. "I'm thinking it's just work, it's really stressing him out. This is still only his first year as a proper attorney," she reminded him.

Dean eyed her for a moment, wondering if there was more to the story. He had become very close with Jess since she married his brother, so he had no problem siding with her if Sam was being an ass. "He's not…causing any trouble with it, is he?"

"I don't want to get into any serious arguments with him, so I usually don't say much," she admitted.

"But it bothers you."

"I won't lie and say it doesn't….but I'm sure it's just a temporary solution for him. An outlet for the stress of work and preparing for the baby."

Dean nodded slowly, still uncertain. Why was she making excuses for him? "You just let me know if I need to beat him senseless."

"Yeah, okay."

"Promise?"

She hesitated a moment, then nodded in agreement. "Promise."

The waiter set down their check, and Dean snatched it out of Jess's hand.

"Now I was supposed to be the one to take _you _to Biggerson's," she protested.

"It's only 15 bucks, I got it."

"So you're not going to get pecan pie this time? Who are you and what have you done with Dean?" she joked, despite her slightly spoiled mood.

"I have pie at home," he told her.

"Store-bought is just not the same." She quoted him from a few months earlier, when he complained that some cookies Sam purchased didn't come close to the chocolate-chip ones Jess made on occasion.

"I know. It's homemade."

"_You_ baked?" She asked disbelievingly.

He actually laughed out loud. "_Hell _no. Cas made it."

"Oh I see. It has nothing to do with sexuality; he told you he would make you pie and you immediately fell for him."

Dean would have replied with sarcasm, but he realized what she just said was surprisingly accurate. His silence made her crack up.

"Oh my God, that's what happened, didn't it? He lured you in with freakin' pie! I should have known!"

"It was damn good, too." Dean made his way to the register, leaving a cackling sister-in-law behind. He momentarily worried if he was really that much of a shallow glutton.

Jess made her way up to the counter and nudged Dean's back. "You do know you're going to tell me all about it on the way back home, right? No details spared."

* * *

Later that evening, Dean received the chance to see his real-life Dr. Sexy again. They decided that a simple walk outside by the university campus was sufficient. Dean waited by a fountain, watching the water shoot upwards and fall down a bubbly substance, the impact of the fall created a soft mist. Coins covered the bottom of the fountain, and Dean could only assume what college students wished for. Good exam grades. Scholarships. Love. Money for tuition. Roommates to move away. Money for anything at all.

"It's amazing how people still carry out the water-wishing tradition after thousands of years."

Dean turned to find Castiel standing beside him, with hands stuck halfway in his jean pockets.

"We have a tendency of grabbing every sliver of hope we can get our hands on," He stated, still dazed by the bubbling and splashing of the fountain. He closed his eyes, and before he could stop it, a flashback to his childhood flooded his mind.

_It was the evening of November 2, 1990. Dean and Sam stood in front of the pretty tile fountain at a park in west Lawrence. It was the anniversary of their mother's death, and their father was out getting drunk somewhere, as he usually did, but he acted the worst on this particular day of the year. Dean pulled a nickel out of his coat pocket and held it up in the fading sunlight. He had stolen a ten dollar bill out of his father's wallet in order to purchase Sammy a new pair of sneakers, and this nickel was part of the change he received from the cashier at the outlet store. He nudged the youngest Winchester and placed the nickel in the boy's palm. "Make a wish, Sammy." The seven-year-old looked up at his brother and smiled before making his way to the fountain's edge. He closed his eyes for a brief moment then tossed the coin into the water. "What did you wish for?" Dean asked him._

"_If I tell you then it won't come true," insisted Sam. Dean hoped that whatever it was, Sam would receive his wish. He took out the last coin in his pocket, an old penny, and held on to it as tightly as his eyelids were closed. Please give me the courage to stand up to my Dad when he gets angry at me and Sammy, he wished silently. The coin flew from his fingers and disappeared beneath the foamy surface of the water. Dean watched the fountain for a moment, not really believing it had any sort of wish-granting powers, but he thought he must at least give it a shot. He slung an arm around his brother's shoulder and led him to the playground portion of the park, wanting to prolong their time away from home in case their father was there waiting for __them._

"You alright over there?"

Dean pushed away his thoughts and turned to Cas. "Yeah I'm fine. Just...thinking. Anyway, how's life at the hospital going?"

"Chock full of innocent people suffering. You know, the usual."

"Well aren't you just a big ball of sunshine," Dean retorted.

"It's my positive outlook on life that keeps me young," Cas replied with flawless sarcasm.

"That and all the philandering you do with younger boys."

"I'm only two years older than you, Dean."

"So you admit you're trying to philander with me. I don't appreciate being objectified." Dean crossed his arms and tried to hold a serious face, but it slipped into a grin when Cas started laughing at him. He realized at that moment Castiel didn't laugh too often, but when he did his nose wrinkled and his smile grew wide, causing dimple lines in his cheeks. Dean thought he probably had the most charming little chuckle on the planet.

The pair walked alongside each other around the almost empty park; Dean managed to get Cas to open up about his most recent ex, Lance Crowley, who he'd broken up with due to betrayal seven months prior to this night. Dean couldn't think of any reason why anyone would want to cheat on Cas, he was such a sweet, awesome guy who was anything but boring. As Dean was telling the tale of his Lisa Braeden era, he could feel the doctor walking slightly closer to him now, to the point of grazing shoulders. Their fingers brushed together once, twice. His brain went into overdrive, as it usually did with close proximity to Castiel. It became apparent that Cas wanted to hold hands with Dean, but the now overly self-conscious mechanic withdrew his hand to scratch awkwardly at his neck. He hoped Cas would dismiss the small rejection, ignore it and carry on. But, as fate would have it, he would not let this one slide. Cas stopped suddenly and turned towards Dean, the setting sun behind him creating a golden outline of his handsome features. "What type of relationship are you looking for, Dean? I'm not clear on what it is from me that you seek."

_Where'd that come from? _Dean wondered briefly as Castiel's ocean blue eyes searched his. _I thought it was pretty clear that I….Wait, what do I want? _Dean knew he wanted a meaningful relationship…Right? And he knew he wanted one from Cas….Didn't he? His uncertainty must have been displayed clearly across his face, because Cas then shook his head in slight annoyance. Dean jumped when a vibration in his pocket startled him out of his thoughts, and he broke eye contact to fumble with his phone.

"Sorry, let me just – one second." He saw the name Jessica Winchester light up across the screen, and exhaled sharply in irritation. _I talked to her earlier, what the hell does she want now? _He tapped the answer button and stared at the ground as he answered. "What's up, Jess?"

"Dean." He immediately noticed her voice was off, too high-pitched. "Dean, I don't know where he went." His head shot up when he realized something was very, very wrong.

"Jess, are you crying? What are you talking about?" He noticed Cas's eyebrows furrow in concern.

"We had a fight and he just…left."

"Left where?"

"I don't know," she repeated.

"You said he usually goes to the bar, you think he went there?"

"No."

"Which one does he go to, the Roadhouse?"

"No, Dean."

"Which one, then?"

"No. No. Dean he – he took a bag."


	8. Chapter 8

**Sup. Got a kind of angsty little chapter here. Oops.**

**I just found out I can reply to reviews from site members, so I'm going to start doing that now. Yeah, I'm pretty stupid. WELL I guess that's all the more reason to leave me a review dontcha think? Follow, favorite, tell your friends, cry about it, whatever, yo.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Dean Winchester's heart was racing. He was angry, worried, and a bit confused. Why would Sam just get up and leave like that? And what did he and Jess fight over that pissed him off so badly? Dean had known there was more to the story when she told him about Sam's recent drinking habits, but he had let it go. Why didn't Dean press the issue? He might've been able to prevent this. He walked briskly back towards his car, with Cas near jogging to keep up with him. "Dean, I'm going with you."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am. You're upset, and someone needs to be there to keep you calm so you don't drive too fast and get yourself killed. Besides, what if your brother is hurt somewhere or unconscious? I could help."

"My family, my problems, Cas."

"Please Dean, be smart about this. Let me help you look for him."

"I don't need your help, dammit!" Dean yelled as he pulled out his keys to unlock his car. "I'll go find my basket-case little bro while you go home and bake yourself a big-ass cake for dinner, alright?" Dean's words clearly stung, and Cas only stood at the curb pitifully as Dean peeled out of the street edge parking space and sped down the road with no known destination.

* * *

Where did Sam go when he was upset? Dean had driven by the homes of his brother's closest friends, Ash's trailer, Jo's apartment, and Chuck's house, but none had seen or heard from Sam. He wouldn't answer the calls from Dean, Jess, or anyone else for that matter. On the drive between homes, Dean would skim the parking lots of the motels and bars he passed by to hopefully find Sam's Dodge, but luck was not on his side today. He even considered Ruby, Sam's ex, and couldn't tell if he wanted to find Sam at her house in the next town or not. He needed to check every possible location however, and was on the way to her house when his phone buzzed loudly. _Please be Sammy, _he prayed silently while snatching up the device. Castiel Novak. He cursed to himself at the name and considered letting it go to voicemail, but he answered it anyway. "What is it, Cas?"

"Hello Dean," Cas greeted, despite Dean's impolite tone. "I found your brother."

"What? Where?!"

"At your house, of all places." Dean swerved into the turning lane and executed a beautiful, yet illegal U-turn.

"And? What's he doing? Have you talked to him?"

"I'm about to. He's sitting on top of his car in your driveway singing 'Stairway to Heaven.' He appears to be heavily intoxicated."

"Damn. I'm on my way, make sure he doesn't go anywhere. Wait, Cas, how do you know where I live? You've never been to my house."

"You told me, the other night." Dean figured that in all of their conversations, he must have at one point told Cas the street he lived on, so he shrugged it off.

"Okay, I'll be there in about – oh _shit. _Oh fuck, no." Flashing red and blue lights illuminated the inside of the Impala and Dean reluctantly pulled over onto a smaller street to face the inevitable. "Looks like you two are gonna really get to know each other tonight."

"What happened?"

"I'm getting pulled over. Shit! Sorry, this may take a little while. Damn it..."

"Well maybe if you would have let me go with you – "

"Not the time, Cas. Here he comes, gotta go. Oh wait! The garden gnome, his hat is broken. There's a spare key underneath it. Take care of Sammy 'till I get there, alright?" Dean hung up and rolled down his window, greeting the cop with a forced smile.

"Good Evening, officer. What can I do for you?" The cop was a tall, thin man with icy grey eyes and thin lips curled into a frown. Dean has never been scared of law enforcement, but this man really gave him the creeps.

"You know why I pulled you over tonight?" His low, nasal voice made Dean shift uncomfortably, and his smile faded.

"I know I was speeding, but it's an emergency and I really have to get - "

"Oh an _emergency_? Well, by all means!" Dean glared at the officer, Alistair, according to his name tag. "We have a number for emergencies, 9-1-1; it's real easy to remember, ain't that convenient?"

Dean opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped himself knowing that nothing he could say would do him any good. Officer Alistair smiled wickedly, reminding Dean of the Joker from the Batman movies. "Insurance and I.D., por favor." Dean stopped himself from rolling his eyes, and got out the requested information.

"And I actually pulled you over for that illegal U-turn; didn't see that you were speeding. But don't worry, I'll go ahead and take your word for it."

Dean's nostrils flared in irritation. This guy was a grade-A douche nozzle. After looking over the cards, The officer continued, "I'm giving you a ticket for the turn but because I'm a swell guy, I'll just give you a warning on the speed."

"Wait, technically I should be getting just a warning for _both _of them!"

"Two broken laws, as far as I know, Mr. Winchester. I'd say you got off easy." Dean's fingernails dug into his palms as the cop fiddled with his PDA. He chose not to protest any further because he really needed to get home. He wondered for a moment how awkward it must be for Cas to welcome himself into a house he'd never been in to babysit a drunk giant he'd only met once. He almost laughed thinking about it while the Officer Alistair issued the ticket.

* * *

In under twenty minutes, the '67 Impala sat parked in the driveway and Dean ran up the porch steps, unsure of what he would see behind the front door. Upon entry, The smell of Chinese takeout overwhelmed his nostrils, but he was too pissed at his brother to think about food. Wait, _food?_ He made his way into the dining room and saw Sam and Cas both sitting at the old wooden table, eating beef chow mein from small folded boxes.

"Broooo!" Sam drawled when he noticed his pissed off brother standing in the doorway. "Having trouble with law, man?" Dean just glared at him, a million questions flying through his mind. "I see you sent your doctor to check up on me."

Cas, ignoring Sam, put down his chopsticks and explained quickly, "You were a little held up, and I figured Sam needed some food in his stomach after imbibing copious quantities of alcohol. We retrieved some for you as well." He held up a takeout box for Dean.

"Yeah, thanks Cas. Um, can a talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure, of course," Cas said and stood to join Dean in the living room. The house Dean lived in had been his home his entire life; he had become the owner after his father passed. He recently finished paying it off, so now he really and truly was the owner of the house, and would likely stay there the rest of his days. The living room homed somewhat mismatched furniture, with an old phonograph in the corner and a china cabinet displaying childhood photos of Sam and Dean. The armchair looked like it belonged in the seventies, and the black leather sofa faced a television mounted above the barely used fireplace. Cas took notice of a fist-sized hole in the wall opposite the TV; Dean had attempted to hide it with a trophy shelf. Dean thought he had hidden the hole pretty well, but he saw Cas staring at it, head tilting in curiosity. Cas felt a hand on his shoulder, then turned back to face the slightly taller man.

"I wanted to say how sorry I am about all of this," Dean started.

"You don't have to apologize."

"Yes, I do. I'm sorry about the way I acted. I'm sorry about the way I treated you. I'm sorry about Sam, and you accidentally getting dragged into this...It's what I hoped to avoid."

"I know, Dean. You requested that I not to get involved, but I did anyway because I was worried. That's not your fault."

"Yeah well, sorry anyway. And thanks I guess...for babysitting my drunken moose of a brother. Oh um, did he, did he say anything to you?"

"I tried asking him about it, but every time he would just mumble something like, 'Just like him.' I don't know what that means, but other than that, he didn't say anything," Cas answered. Dean shrugged, not sure who Sam was referring to either.

"Alright then. I can take care of it from here."

Cas looked from the doorway back to Dean, then nodded reluctantly. He let Dean lead him to the door when he remembered something. "Almost forgot. I hid Sam's car keys in your freezer. I'm surprised he even made to your house without trouble."

"Yeah. Thanks Cas." He hesitated, then leaned over to kiss Cas on the cheek, if somewhat awkwardly. He smiled a bit sadly at Dean, then left.

Now that Cas was gone, Dean remembered the situation at hand and anger filled his insides like wildfire. He stormed back into the dining room and found Sam digging around in his box of noodles. Dean reached down and yanked the box out of his hands and slammed it down on the far side of the table out of his brother's reach. Sam stood to grab it again but was stopped abruptly when Dean punched him square in the cheekbone.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

"OWWW. Dammit, Dean!"

"JESS IS HOME ALONE, CRYING, AND YOU'RE HERE CHOWING DOWN ON FUCKING BEEF CHOW MEIN!"

"Dude, you need to chill out."

"No, I'm not gonna 'chill out.' You're going to tell me what happened. Right. Now."

Sam sighed and rubbed his face where a bruise was definitely going to form while searching for the right words. "It…it's kinda hard to explain."

"I don't care. What were you and Jess fighting about?"

Sam scratched at the table anxiously while bits of the story came tumbling out.

"I drink…sometimes. And I, well Jess she, she doesn't like it and griped about it and...we got on the topic of the baby and I said something and she got upset and we were arguing and, and she started crying and I said some things to try and explain myself but I only made it worse so I just…I needed to get out so I just left."

Dean stared at his brother in confusion. Sam was still a bit plastered, making his elusive story even more difficult to follow. "She said you took a bag. You're here, so I presume you expected to stay with me, but I want to know when you plan on going back."

Sam said nothing, he only stared back at Dean with sad, glassy eyes.

"Sammy….you DO plan on going back." The younger Winchester's eyes fell to his hands, he couldn't bring himself to answer.

"Sammy? Tell me you plan on going back." Dean felt his jaw clench when Sam gave him the tiniest of shrugs. No, this is not right. Sam and Jess love each other. Dean adored Jessica. Sammy is going to become a daddy and Dean will become Uncle Dean and they were a family. No. No. This is not right at all.

Sam's lip quivered for a moment, and Dean's face filled with worry as he spoke softly, "What did you say about the baby that upset her so much?"

"I told her the truth."

He didn't know why, but Dean's heart sank at this short sentence. "Which is?"

Sam finally met his brother's gaze, and with a voice barely audible he answers, "I'm not ready to be a father."

Dean's eyebrows drew together in disbelief, and he could no longer keep his anger from flooding his veins once more. "You told. Your third-trimester wife. _You're not ready to be a father?_ Are you _insane_?"

"Better late than…well, _too_ late."

Dean ran his hands through his hair, then slammed his fists down violently on the table. "Well you better get ready, kid, 'cause YOUR baby boy is coming this AUGUST, asshole! Which, by the way, I knew before you did because you won't show up to a SINGLE DAMN APPOINTMENT."

"The problem is…I don't think I'll ever be ready to be a father."

"What are you talking about?"

"You've said it yourself before, Dean. I'm just like him."

"Like who?"

"You _know _who."

Dean stared at his brother. _He can't possibly think – No. He couldn't. _"Sam…Is that…Is that what this is about? Do you really think…? No, you're not going to be like him Sammy, you're wrong." His voice cracked, he struggled to keep it together.

Sam shook his head pitifully. Tears began to form on the rims of his eyelids, and he bit his lip hard to hold them back. "I…can't...risk it. I can't…put a child…through that." Through the tears, his eyes appeared even glassier than before. "It's just...not…_nice._"

"You're not going to be like our dad. You're not going to leave your kids at home while you go off and screw some hookers. You're not going to degrade your son for liking books. You're not going beat your son for spilling orange juice on the floor he just mopped. You're not going to try to sleep with your son's girlfriend. You're not going to blame your kids for everything that's wrong in your world. You're not going to refuse to feed your kid for three days after he steals some money to buy his little brother some new shoes. You're not him, Sam. You're different, because you have a damn _heart._" Dean didn't even realize he started crying. "You listen to me, Sammy. If anyone would have pulled this crap, would've done all this, I would have thought it to be me. But _you?_ You're smart. So smart, and probably the most caring son of a bitch I've ever known, with your hugging and empathy and damn puppy dog eyes. That's why Jess married you, you dumbass. She knew you'd make a great father. The best."

Sam gazed up at Dean, his tear-stained cheeks and distraught expression making him appear younger than his 27 years. "But…I'm scared, Dean."

"That's because you actually give a fuck. As far as I know, it's perfectly normal to be scared as hell. But dude, Jess can't do it all on her own. She needs you. Your son needs you. That's your family and you love them, and you're going to be the best damn father a plaid-wearing Sasquatch can be."

Sam said nothing, he only closed his eyes and attempted to nod. Dean grabbed him by the shoulders and stood him up before wrapping his arms around his baby brother. With a chest clenched tight with emotion, Sam choked out words. "How can you be sure? How do you know I won't change?"

"Because it's me. I know you better than anyone else, and you've been the same Sammy since you were in store-brand diapers. Having a family of your own won't change that." Sam nodded again and they broke apart. "You can stay here tonight, I'll tell Jess everything is okay. Honestly, I don't know where you'll begin with your apology to her, but that's the first thing you're doing tomorrow, alright?"


End file.
